More Google Catch-up: Gmail Adds Video IM (GOOG)

Google (GOOG) is rolling out video and voice chat for Gmail. We tried to download the plug-in and restart our browsers, but it doesn't seem to work on our computers yet. A Google source tells us the technology is being rolled out to Gmail users in waves, but friends report it works well.

Of course, video chat has been available on eBay's (EBAY) Skype and Apple's (AAPL) iChat for years.

Another recent catch-up improvement: In October Gmail heralded IM-to-SMS links, a feature available on AOL's AIM since 2003.